Milestone Minutiae

Last week, Luke was crawling around in the front room while I was in the kitchen. A little bit later, he started fussing so I went to see what was wrong. When I rounded the corner, I saw him looking at me over the edge of the train table. He'd pulled himself up, but was feeling a little unsure about the whole "standing" thing.

On Friday, we went to a children's museum where the focus was on reading. It was filled with play areas themed like storybooks with dress-up clothes and puppets. And of course, there were lots of books around. There was one cute one called "My Librarian is a Camel" about how kids around the world get access to books - bookmobiles, camels, monthly book exchanges, etc. Since Emmett is reading some, I thought I'd get his help with the title. I pointed to the words and said "My Librarian..." and waited for him to finish it. He looked at the cover (a picture of a camel with boxes of books strapped to it), and read: "... is a CLAM."

After nursing at night, when he's almost asleep, Luke will lie on his back and talk with his eyes closed. It's very cute and obviously tired babbling, and when he does it I know he'll be asleep soon (unless his eyes pop open - then I'm in real trouble). In other "Luke noises" news, he's been making long sounds and then putting the back of his wrist in and out of his mouth. He seems to like listening to the "wa wa wa" sound that is made. Did he pick this up in music class? Each week, we make sounds and then wiggle our lips with our fingers to make "bubububu" sounds, so it's possible. Finally, Luke has started shaking his head back and forth pretty vigorously. He likes it when you do it with him, taking turns. Is he rattling his little brain around? Probably.

Luke is crawling for real now. He's still on his belly, but perfectly able to get around the house. Last night, he crawled up and down the kitchen, looking for Cheerios that he'd dropped earlier in the day. Given that the dogs are failing at their "clean up after the baby eats" job, I guess I'll have to sweep a bit more frequently.

Every day, Emmett buys trinkets with the tokens he earns at school. These are party-favor style toys, and the big-ticket items come from the dollar store at most. As you can imagine, the quality doesn't even come close to matching a happy-meal-toy. With almost every prize, there is a problem at home when it breaks or doesn't work as it's supposed to. Still, Emmett is excited to get every one. Which explains how I found myself in a park on a slightly windy day trying to get the World's Cheapest Kite into the air while wearing a baby in a sling. So I can't run, and I have to try not to smack or strangle Luke while trying to get the kite flying. And of course, the string is wound around a flat piece of plastic, so when I do get the kite in the air, letting out more string is slow and difficult at best (and I have to watch out so I don't bop Luke in the face while I'm doing the unwinding). I did get the kite into the air, once with Luke in the sling and onc

Finally! Grumpiness with a know cause - tooth #1 is just about to break through.

I've got a mole an inch or so below my clavicle. Emmett used to play with it all the time when he nursed, and Luke has finally found it. Unfortunately, he seems to have decided that it has got to go. He spends his time alternating between trying to bite it and trying to pick it off with his fingers.

When I first started feeding Luke (at about 5 1/2 months), he wasn't really interested. In fact, he never ate more than about an ounce at a time until just a few weeks ago - about the time that we got back from the trip to California. Now, he'll eat about 2 ounces of baby food a couple of times a day, along with a 2" hunk of banana stuffed into his baby-safe feeder. And countless Cheerios. At first, he just swatted at the Cheerios and played with them. Then, they'd get stuck to his hands and sometimes he'd get them into his mouth. Now he deliberately picks them up and stuffs them into his mouth. He then "chews" them, as much as a baby without teeth can chew, and goes for another one. It seems to be his favorite part of dinner. I've got to make some finger foods for him, I guess.

It's funny to watch Spanish School. It's a very playful environment, and the kids spend a lot of time laughing and trying to crack each other up. They make the same kinds of jokes that four-year-olds make, it's just that they're making them in Spanish and I can't understand them completely. Things like looking at the number "61" and saying "sesenta y DOS???" or saying "esta lloviendo" (it's raining) on a sunny day.

He is pretty solid at sitting up - I don't freak out when he does it on the tile, though I don't really leave him there, either. He doesn't fall over and go splat very often, and on the carpet it doesn't bother him much anyway. Today David saw him crawl forward about two feet, army-man style. He also is pretty good at entertaining himself. I can fold laundry with him content to play on the floor with toys, and sometimes even go out of sight to do other things.

Today he signed "milk" and maybe "all done," both times seeming to express what he wanted. He's clearly caught on that gestures can have meaning. When I started signing with Emmett, he was around 11 months old. He seemed to understand the meaning of a sign at the time he started using it. At the time, I read that kids as young as 6 months would return signs to their parents (wow!). I also read that babies who are signed to very early will "babble" in gestures. I think Luke is doing some babbling with "more." He keeps signing "more" even when he's done eating. To help him figure out the meaning, I've tried to expand the context I use it in. I started with food, but now, I'll do something he likes (sing, bounce, etc) and then stop abruptly. Then I'll ask him if he wants "more." I'll usually get the sign and continue, but if he doesn't sign to me, I'll move on to something else. Now I jus

I think we saw Luke's first word tonight! :) For a few weeks, I've been signing "more" and "all done" with Luke when I'm feeding him. From the start he's watched me very carefully when I'm signing, usually with a grin. Once or twice each time, I'll take his hands and bring them together (more) or wave one hand back and forth over his tray (all done). Tonight, when I asked Luke if he wanted more, he brought his hands together! It was almost like he was clapping. It could have been a fluke, so after I gave him the bite, I asked him again if he wanted more. He did it again! Then I called David and Emmett inside, and we had another performance. I'd heard of kids signing as early as around 6 months before, but I never thought Luke would return a sign so early (he's just over 7 months old). I guess it's time to brush up on my signing!